Seven days a week - Konoha
by Diamond snow
Summary: Seven couples living their everyday life in Konoha, thoughts about their life as well as their romances. Each day features an individual pairing. Rated T for safety. Please read and review! Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
1. Chapter 1: Getsuyobi (SakuraxSasuke)

I FINALLY managed to get myself together and make a Naruto fanfic! This will have seven pairs based on the seven days a week.

WARNING! CONTAINS SPOILERS PLUS A SOMEWHAT AU ENDING. IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, DON'T READ THIS FANFICTION.

This chapter is going to feature...our very famous Sakura Haruno!

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**Getsuyobi.**

DRIIIIIING! A shrill alarm cut through the bedroom like a fire brigade siren. 'Urgh. I HATE this alarm bell. Mental note to self…do not ask Tenten to buy something that makes sounds. She's probably half-deaf after being at Gai's team for so long' concluded the female as she slapped the alarm clock. It went quiet right after it hit the floor. Sakura swung her legs over the bed before she stretched her arms. Clear forest green eyes looked down at the watch. 'At least I won't be running late' thought the young woman with a smile before she looked over at her boyfriend. He was still fast asleep despite the ruckus that the alarm clock had caused. She could not blame him since he had suffered with nightmares from a young age. Those days were thankfully over since the last couple of years had been the best ones in his life.

'Better get into the shower. I don't want to look like a grease ball when I'm meeting the council representative today. Tsunade-sama would kill me if that happened' mused the 33-year old as she got into the bathroom. A person from the Konoha city council would visit the hospital today to see how they were doing. If they were doing a good job, they could possibly get more money or sponsored lectures by people from other villages. The hospital always welcomed both since they had gotten more medic-nins after the war 16 years ago. 'Hm. I should buy some more conditioner when I go to the supermarket. The bottle is nearly empty' noticed the female. She washed her hair plus other areas of the body first. Her hair was last on her 'washing list'. It was longer now than back in her Chuunin days, but shorter when she had been a Genin. It was a length that the Jounin was comfortable with since it gave her ample opportunities in terms of styling. She then stepped out of the shower before she dried herself. 'Today is Monday…which means I'm having afternoon shift. Maybe I'll just put on my sweater dress' deciced the young woman. She put on her underwear plus a T-shirt that made her feel less naked. Her navy blue dress with light pink trimmings came on next. Last but not least were her black tights. A clean uniform that was mint green in colour hang next to the shower. 'My shift starts at 4 PM today. Better get back at 3 so I can pack the dinner' thought the female.

Suddenly, she heard some music that came from the kitchen. It was an upbeat song that reminded her of the ones Ino listened to when they used to live together. 'Maybe the band has released some new songs' pondered the medic as she tied her hair into a braid. But when she heard a girly voice sing along, the young woman understood what was going on. She jogged up to the kitchen while crossing her fingers that nothing in the kitchen had exploded. 'PLEASE don't let anything be ruined or spilled across the floor! I still get shivers when I think about the porridge accident last month' thought Sakura as she entered the kitchen.

She let out a sigh of relief when she did not see anything liquid or solid spilled across any of the surfaces. "Miki-chan! I was getting a bit worried for a moment" sighed the female when she saw her daughter stand next to the fridge. "Don't worry mum. I was just going to make some yoghurt fruit mash for breakfast" told the girl. "I'll chop up the fruit while you mix the yoghurt. Is your brother awake?" inquired the pinkette as she walked over to the fridge. "No. He's still asleep" replied her daughter. Miki had inherited her father's eyes while her carnation pink hair was a gift from her mother. She was a rather honest girl who could be a bit on the blunt side sometimes. But the six-year old girl was a bright kid; she was one of the top five in her class as far as ninjutsu was concerned. Her genjutsu skills were rather good too while her taijutsu was about average. 'Looks like she has gotten that from me as well. But I honestly can't say that Sasuke was as good as Kiba or Neji in taijutsu either' mentally admitted the young woman as she removed the orange from the fridge.

She started to chop up the fruit while the younger pinkette started to mix some natural yoghurt with some oats. "What are you going to do with Koichi-kun today?" asked the girl as she stirred the mixture with her spoon. "We're going to the park to meet up with Hinata and Himiko-chan today at the park. I think we'll visit the library afterwards" informed the pinkette as she started to cut up the pear. "Ooooh! Can you please check if they have 'The great shinobi tales' by Marii Kiyomizu? I heard from Chie-chan that the book was really good! Pretty pleeaaseee?" asked Miki while she put on her best puppy eye look. "I'll have a look if you promise to do your homework before I leave for work. I'm afraid I won't be able to read it for you tonight though" told the female with a somewhat stern voice. She then mixed the chopped up fruits together with the yoghurt before she placed the bowl in front of her child. "Orange and pear? YAY! My favorite!" squealed the little girl.

'Better go down to wake up Koichi-kun' decided Sakura while her daughter was eating her breakfast. She went down to the ground floor where the kids' bedrooms were located. "Koichi-kun? Are you awake?" inquired the young woman after she had knocked on the door. The door opened up and revealed her son. Koichi had inherited his father's hair as well as his eyes. But the rest of his face looked like a boyish version of hers. "Yeah mum. I woke up when I heard onee-chan squeal" muttered the boy. He was not a big fan of his sister squealing or 'aaaaaw'-ing every time she saw something she adored. The medic walked with her son upstairs where her daughter was eating the last bits of her breakfast. "Be a good boy now and get yourself dressed. I laid your outfit in your clothing basket yesterday" told the female. "OK mum" muttered the inky-haired kid as he walked towards the bathroom. She went back to the kitchen where her daughter was about to leave the table. "STOP RIGHT THERE MIKI! What have I told you about cleaning up after yourself?" stated the pinkette with a strict voice. Her child winced slightly. "Fine mum. I'll clean up my bowl" murmured the child with a small scowl at her face. She removed the bowl from the table while the young woman laid the bento box in the bright yellow backpacker. "I'll just check on Koichi-kun" told Sakura before she went to the bathroom. Her son had already put on his deep red trousers as well as his socks. "Good job Koichi-kun! You just need to put on your shirt now" encouraged the female. The small male nodded before he bent down to pick up his navy blue sweater with red stripes on it.

She then went downstairs to check on her daughter. Miki was about to put on her dark purple sneakers, so the pinkette reached up to get her rain jacket. "Here you go Miki-chan. You'll need it today since you got the excursion to the forest today" said the young woman as she handed her the beige jacket. "I don't need to. It's not raining" protested her daughter. 'Here we go again…' thought the medic as she mentally rolled her eyes. "The weather forecast said it would rain today. Do you remember what happened with Chie-chan when she forgot her rain jacket last month?" inquired the female. "Yeah. She got a really nasty flu and she could not go to the park with us" replied the smaller pinkette. "Exactly. Do you want that to happen with you? Especially since one of your friends are having a birthday party this weekend" told the 33-year old. Her reminder seemed to do the trick since her daughter bit her lower lip. "No mommy" muttered the girl. "Good. Now, put on your rain jacket while I get your brother" told the young woman. She went back up to the bathroom while crossing her fingers that her son had gotten his clothes on. It turned out to be unnecessary since he was climbing at the kitchen counter with his clothes on. "All right young man! It's time to go to the park" informed the medic before she lifted him down from the kitchen counter. "I'm HUNGRY!" yelled Koichi. "I have a bento box that we'll eat in the park. I even made your favorite sandwich" told the female. It used to be a mini ritual of theirs when they were on playdates. Both of the children usually had their breakfast or lunch together after they had played a little bit. That seemed to work since he stopped wiggling.

"MOMMY! I'm ready to go now!" shouted her daughter from the stair case. "Let's go now Koichi-kun" stated the pinkette before they went downstairs. She helped her son to put on his shoes while Miki tapped her feet. The trio then left the small house. 'We're a couple minutes late' noticed the young woman as they walked towards the Konoha Academy. She tried to not walk to fast since her children had shorter legs than she had. It was quite a nice day; it was a little clouded while a small breeze made the tree branches move a little. "Are you looking forward to the field trip today?" inquired Sakura while she looked down at her daughter. "Mhm. I think we're going to learn about how to hide in different places or things like that" told the girl as the rounded a corner. "That's good. It's important that you learn how to hide properly if you want to become a good kuinochi" stated the female.

"Mummy…when do you think I'll be able to activate my sharingan? My dad said he was seven when he could do that" informed the small pinkette. The medic bit her lip since this was not an easy topic to talk about. Both Tsunade plus one of the Hyuugas had checked if her children were able to use the sharingan last year. The older woman had told that she was certain that Miki could activate hers. Koichi was too young to say for sure, but the chances were high since he had the same eye colour as his father had. She had received a similar reply from the Hyuuga that had compared the children's chakra system to their fathers. Both of them had a similar chakra network in their eyes. But the main question was when the sharingan awakening would happen. Sasuke had been a talented shinobi who had received proper training from people who were experienced Sharingan users. Her daughter however only had her male parent to teach her and he had been slightly reluctant to do so. His sharingan had after all nearly made him blind at a young age. But the young woman told him that Kakashi had not become blind at his left eye despite that he had used his sharingan for nearly 40 years. Plus that the medical research within the doujutsu field had reached new heights. The research that Kabuto and Orochimaru had done combined with the dead bodies of shinobis after the war had been the two major contributors. He had agreed to train his children when they became seven, but not push them too hard. The last thing he wanted was to end up with a replay of the situation between him and Itachi.

"When are you coming home from work today?" inquired Koichi, his voice pulling her out of her thoughts. "I won't come home before late in the night. You'll be asleep then. But dad is going to be home the whole day" answered Sakura. The trio reached the academy a couple minutes later. 'Phew we made it in time' thought the female as she bent down at her knee. "Here we are. Have a good day at school Miki-chan" told the medic before she kissed her daughter on her cheek. "Bye mummy!" replied the girl with a grin. She then jogged into the school building as the bell rang. "When am I going to start at the shinobi academy mum?" asked the small boy. "You'll start in two years when you're six years old" told the young woman. She found herself a bit shocked when she realized how fast time had passed.

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It seemed like yesterday that her boyfriend had gotten his 'sentence' after the shinobi villages had defeated Madara as well as Tobi. He had to live in a 24-7 supervised house with other war criminals and had to wear a chakra-disabling device. The male had to attend group therapy sessions once or twice per week as well. All of the Konoha 12 shinobis, team Gai plus the senseis were only allowed to see him twice a month. Only two people could see him per visit. Sasuke had to do civilian jobs in order to integrate into the society too. Most of them were related to construction, helping out on farms, clean up the aftermaths after the war or similar things. Tsunade thought that 'getting all the bad emotions out' combined with hard work would be the medicine he needed. This proved out to be the right thing to do since he slowly returned to his 'normal' self. But this transformation had taken long time; it took about four years of hard work until he was deemed 'safe for work'. His hatred plus his obsession with revenge had disappeared. The biggest change was that the guy was genuinely interested in making friends again. He moved back to the Uchiha district and was accepted to work as a Genin-ranked shinobi.

But the one to thank for their relationship was Ino Yamanaka. She had set both of them up on a blind date on Christmas Eve after noticing that her female bestie had complained about the lack of a love life. It had been a surprisingly nice date despite that it was in the Korean barbeque restaurant. Both of them had talked about everything from music they had listened to plus the time Naruto got slapped in the face by a kuinochi from Kumogakure. One thing leaded to another and they soon found themselves being a couple. But it had not been easy. They had a couple of fights plus a number of apologies on the way. Most of their fights had been related to how the guy had used to be in the past. The guy passed the Chuunin exams a year later while the medic was promoted to a special Jounin in the medic field. Both of them managed to juggle their love life, training plus their social life quite well despite that a number of the Konoha 12 gave the Uchiha the occasional death stare. Neji and Tenten had a legit reason to do so since the former of them died during the war. He would have still been dead if Kabuto had not sacrificed his life to revive as many shinobis as possible. She then moved in with him after they had dated for a little more than two years. It had been a slightly sad experience since living with Ino as well as Hinata had been a very nice time.

A new challenge then arised for the Konoha 12 plus Gai's team; the Jounin exams. All of the former rookies had been 25 at that time while Gai's team plus Sai was 26 years old. This exam had taken place in Kaminari no Kuni where the goal was to get to the capital in less than a week. But their challenge was that they had no food, no map, had to get through a forest with savage beasts bigger than those in the Chuunin exams plus that they had to cope with nasty weather. All of the Konoha shinobis had been placed in different groups. Naruto and Sasuke had been placed at solo teams because of their sheer power. The young woman had Chouji plus Kiba as her teammates. Lightning storms combined with a number of unexpected intellectual challenges along the road made it quite tricky for the Konoha trio. Her team did however made it in time and were all promoted to Jounin.

She then had a 'special' type of celebration with her boyfriend back at their house once they made it back. A little more than a year after the exams, the pinkette had been promoted, she started to feel more tired during taijutsu sessions. She decided to take a blood test to check if there was anything serious going on. The test had come back positive…for pregnancy. The female had been pregnant for five weeks. Sakura still remembered the look that the male Jounin had at his face when she told him that he was the father. His onyx eyes had a sincere look of happiness on them with a smile that matched. But she suspected that part of the reason was that Naruto had announced his girlfriend's pregnancy exactly two months earlier.

The pregnancy went fine and Miki had been borne in the middle of December that year. Raising a small child was a bit difficult, but the couple decided to follow some values that they both shared. The last thing Sasuke wanted was to make their daughter feel like he had during his childhood. This had proved out to be a rather good idea since their child was now a well-functioning girl who was not spoiled or behaved badly. Save the time she slapped a guy in the face when he was behaving bad (or telling her in his way that he liked her). The young woman had banned her from playdates in a week despite that she was a bit relieved. At least Miki would not end up like a door mat like she had.

Koichi the came to the world in the start of February when their daughter was three years old. Neither of them wanted the age gap between their children to be too big so they could not relate to one another. Their boy however was a bit more demanding due to his lack of appetite. But things worked out when the medic found out why; her son got tummy ache every time she breastfed him after a nap. This was luckily the most major problem they had. Next up was the work issue since they now had two children to take care of. Neither of them wanted to give up their work completely since they needed an income for their family. Not to mention that the hospital as well as the shinobi department needed all the work force they could get. Thankfully, Naruto stepped up to the Hokage position at his 30th birthday. He managed to work out a sort of work rotation together with Shikamaru that could benefit shinobis who had families. The young man was put on an 8 AM to 4 PM shift with an additional hour on weekends. He got one week of per month since he had a child that had not started at the Shinobi Academy yet. The female got an afternoon schedule from 4 to 11 PM with one week off per month as well. It was a brilliant solution since they were now able to have time with the family.

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"HI KOICHI-KUN!" shouted a girly voice that snapped her out of her thoughts. She turned around to see who it was. The owner was none other than Himiko Hyuuga with her mother right behind. Himiko had inherited her mother's eyes while her hair was clear cobalt blue. The girl was less shy than Hinata, but not as hyper as her father. She was however a child who loved to spend time with others. "Hello Himiko-chan" greeted her son with a polite smile. "Hello Hinata. How are you?" inquired Sakura. "I'm doing rather well. And you?" replied the young woman. She was not as shy as earlier thanks to her relationship with the blonde shinobi. But the bluenette still found it difficult to speak with new people or in front of huge crowds. "I'm not doing that bad either. I'm happy that you guys could join us on the park trip today" told the young woman as they walked towards the park. Their children were chatting with each other as they entered the Konoha park. It was a large area with trees that had a tall fence around it. There was a playground there too with a number of swings, slides, a miniature obstacle course, two sandboxes plus a couple of targets that could be used for shuriken or kunai practice. Both of the children were running towards the miniature obstacle course with huge smiles on their faces.

"How is Sasuke-san doing?" inquired the Hyuuga. "He's quite well. Sasuke has today off, so he's going to cook dinner today. Is Naruto all right being the Hokage?" asked the medic. She had not spoken that much with him the last couple of weeks. "He's really busy, but he makes sure to come home early a couple days a week. The last thing he wants is to not be there for his children. He knows how it is to not have any parents after all" said the Jounin with a quiet voice. She had a slightly pained look in her eyes since her husband had probably shared this story with her. "He does" muttered the female as she glanced on the two children who were trying to run in zig-zag between the wooden poles. A part of her felt a bit limited since she could not relate to how it was to not have parents or family during the first part of her life. But another part of her felt really lucky since she had parents who loved her unconditionally. 'At least I know what I'm going to do while I'm raising my children. I'm going to make sure that I spend time with them and give them as much love as I have to offer' thought the pinkette as a mild breeze made the leaves flutter in the air.

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There we go! How was it? Please PM me or give me a review if you have any constructive criticism and/or praise. It's much appreciated ^_^


	2. Chapter 2: Kaiyobi (NarutoxHinata)

Hello! I hope you've all enjoyed the story so far. I am not so used with writing dramatic stories, so I'm sticking to sort of everyday life for now. Our next character is the title character of the show: Naruto Uzumaki!

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**Kaiyobi.**

"Kami. This is going to take a while" muttered the male as he looked at the papers in front of him. A diplomat from Amegakure was requesting entrance to the village. This was not a problem since the village was in a peaceful state, but the paperwork that it required would take some time. Especially if you had a hyperactive mindset like Naruto had. 'Let's see how long he's planning to stay here first' thought the young man as he looked at the application that had been filled out. The diplomat was a 20-something old man named Sadao Fujimoto. He wanted to stay here for two or three days since he had already sent the papers ahead. 'It looks like he has done this before. Shinobi villages are quite compliant with issuing visas for three days or less since it requires less hassle. Hmph…I wish I could travel a bit more sometimes' thought the Hokage. He had not been out of the village for the last three months since his shinobis were more active than prior to the war 16 years ago.

Kakashi had told him that it would be wise to give the shinobis as much training as possible during a peaceful period since they had ample of time plus competence to use. There were better teachers at the Academy, several medics plus ANBU's had been recruited at their institutions while Genin squards could receive special training in other villages if they applied for it in advance. All of this had made Konohagakure into a rich powerhouse of a village with strong shinobis to match. But to keep this up required quite a lot of work for the council as well as the male.

A knock could be heard at the door. "Who is it?" called the blonde. "It's me" replied a quiet dark voice that still sent shivers down his spine. "Come in Shino-san" replied the young man. The door opened and the shinobi entered moments later. His former classmate had now become one of the clan leaders in the Aburame clan as well as a researcher at the hospital. The man had not changed much; he had only grown a little plus that he had cut his hair. "Hello Hokage-sama. I got a report here from the hospital about the bug research. Looks like it turned out to be a bit of a failure" informed the brunette with a sober voice. The 33-year old did not have to see his eyes to tell he was a bit disappointed at the result. His voice served that job very well. "Thank you Shino-san. I'll approve it a bit later today after I've done some paperwork" assured the male with a smile. He received a silent nod in reply. "Say hello to Hinata for me. I'm afraid I have to leave since I have an appointment. Good bye" told the older man. He gave him a polite bow before he left the office.

'Yikes. Even if he's 34, he's still scary. I wonder how he managed to get himself a girlfriend' thought Naruto. But the Aburame was without a shadow of a doubt a hardworking shinobi that put effort into his work. Especially if it concerned something that he was passionate about. Such as the bugs…or people he cared about.

Cerulean blue eyes then looked at the photo that was at his desk. It was a photo that had been taken quite recently during a festival. Hinata stood with him in the center of the photo with their children Toshio and Himiko. His daughter was dressed in a sunny yellow yukata while his son had a pale pumpkin orange yukata. The Hyuuga next to him was wearing a lavender purple one while he was dressed in a forest green kimono. No matter how many times he looked at the photo, a smile formed at his face. Maybe it was because the young man had never had a family that had been there for him like his wife had. But her family had been pretty harsh on her while she grew up though…thank Kami they stopped that when she had become 13. Her father was less strict than earlier since the young woman had proved herself worthy as the next clan leader. He had even accepted that his daughter was now dating a person who was a jinchuuriki.

'Stop daydreaming now! It's time to get back to reality! These papers won't fill out by themselves' realized the blonde. He looked back down at the papers that were on his desk. First on his agenda was the papers for the diplomat before the report from Shino needed approval. 'Better check his reason for staying here. I better ask the council to send a copy of his papers' decided the male. He then headed right for the office where Shikamaru was currently working. "Are you in there Shikamaru?" inquired the Hokage after he had knocked on the door. "Come in" replied the familiar voice. He entered the office, which was surprisingly clean. "Could you please let me look at some papers? A diplomat from Amegakure has requested a visa" informed the young man. The other male flipped through some papers that lay in a file marked 'international' that laid on his desk. "Here we are. Just make sure you hand them back to me before you go home" told Shikamaru with a somewhat lazy tone in his voice. "Thanks. I'll give them back in an hour or two" promised the 34-year old with a grin. He received a blank stare of the other young man as he left the office; he had heard that saying quite often during his time as an assistant here.

The male then sat down with the papers in his hand. 'Let's see…the diplomat wants to enter the village to discuss some cooperation deal with training facilities. The lower-ranked shinobis in Amegakure don't have the experience with navigating or scouting through large areas of land due to the size of Ame no Kuni. Same goes for survival training as well. I can't say they're wrong since Hi no Kuni is almost five times bigger in size than Ame no Kuni is. It must be really hard for the Chuunins or Jounins to find decent areas to train scouting or survival in such a small country' realized Naruto after he had looked at the world map. Ame no Kuni was a very small country that laid north-east for Hi no Kuni.

'Let's see if he really is who he tells he is' thought the young man before he pulled out a record of diplomats from different nations. All of the kages as well as the daimyos had a book that listed the diplomats in all of the countries. The main reason for this was that this group was a wandering target for missing shinobis or other bandits. 'Amegakure no Sato…here we are. Looks like this guy is legit' concluded the blonde when he saw the name plus the photo. The man had the face of someone in that age group with a name that matched the one at the application form.

'I'll just need to inform the council about this…who's the one handling foreign affairs again?' pondered the male as he looked at the picture on the wall. 'I remember now. It's Genma plus the Yamanaka Chuunin! I better give this to them right away' thought the Hokage. He laid the papers in an envelope after scribbling a note that he had already taken a look at this. Stuff like this was a bit boring since it required so much paperwork. But it was for the best (or at least that was what the council said it was). Next up was the report that Shino had given him earlier.

The young man prayed that the document would not contain a lot of words that was hard for him to understand. His hate for academics combined with all the lessons he had slept through or not paid attention to in the Academy had bitten him hard in the butt three years ago. All of the laws as well as other important documents contained words he could hardly pronounce. To make matters worse, they often referred to events or people that the male was barely able to remember. The male felt rather ashamed since he had just been chosen to take over the role as a Hokage. What kind of person would be proud to have a village leader who could make hundreds of shadow clones but not being able to tell the laws that the first leader had created? No wonder why Ino, Tenten plus Shizune had been so attracted to their boyfriends. Brains were apparently just as sexy as a strong mind was.

But the Uzumaki refused to be defeated by something like academics in order to claim his Hokage position. He started attending private lessons with some of the special Jounins who were teachers at the ANBU Academy. The young man had to attend three lessons per day that focused on history, international relations plus society knowledge. Hinata had helped him revise his homework plus the difficult parts of the lessons as well. Naruto was forever grateful to have such a patient girlfriend. In fact, he would probably call the female an 'angel' rather than a 'woman' due to all the hard work she did for him. But the hard work paid off since he was more efficient now. Plus that having all the new knowledge made him more equal to Sasuke Uchiha. Even after all these years, the duo was still rivals. 'We're probably going to end up just like Kakashi and Gai' mused the male as he flipped onto the next page. But having a rival forced both of them to keep up their strength as well as doing their best in several areas. The blonde had already beaten him in the family area since his son was born a month earlier than his daughter. She was lovely, but he could not help but to gloat a little. But the other guy had already defeated him at the Jounin exams because his team arrived five hours prior to his.

The young man shook his head before he concentrated on the report again. It looked like the Aburame clan members had conducted an experiment where they used their bugs on patients with different illnesses. Apparently, they wanted to see if the bugs could detect diseases prior to the medics. The report said that the bugs were able to find blockages in the chakra network or chakra fatigue a lot earlier than the medics. Another disease the bugs had discovered quite quickly were those related to chakra poisoning since the bugs had died from it. 'I bet Shino was not happy about the latter one. But it's for a good case nevertheless' thought the Hokage as he turned to the next page. The illnesses that the bugs were able to figure out at the same speed as the medics were flu, stomach virus plus general poisoning. Bone fractures plus headache were diseases that the bugs were unable to catch. 'This looks like a rather solid report. Having an Aburame member working with a medic can prove to be great work if they're working with shinobis who uses ninjutsu or genjutsu a lot. They're probably more prone to chakra poisoning or fatigue than taijutsu users like bushy brows or Tenten' thought the male. He then laid the report down before he opened the booklet concerning report approvals. It was not very often that Naruto had to approve medic reports like this one. 'All right. I just need to check the medic safety form as well as the content before I approve it. Should not be too hard' concluded the young man after he had read the text. He checked the form in the front, which had Tsunade's signature on it. It seemed like it had been ages since she stepped down from the Hokage position to administrate the hospital in the Konohagakure no Sato…

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A lot of things had happened after the shinobi war. Kabuto had sacrificed his life in order to revive the allied shinobis that had died in the massive conflict. One of them was Neji Hyuuga. Sasuke had been apprehended due to his association with Tobi. He had to wear a chakra-sucking device while he stayed in his 'prison'. It was not exactly a traditional prison since the inmates had to do manual work plus attending group therapy. The blonde felt quite torn in terms of this treatment. A part of him was raging mad because the inky-haired male was intending to destroy his home village. Not to mention that this place was the current home of his friends too. But another part of the guy felt happy that the older woman wanted to give him another chance. The former Genin had little time to think since Mizu no Kuni were arranging the Chuunin exams just three months after the war.

Hinata volunteered to help him out with the knowledge part while Gai had given him a crash course in advanced taijutsu. The theory had been the hardest part…he was not called a knuckle headed shinobi for nothing. Thank Kami that the female was such a patient person. He passed the theory part with decent marks while the survival part turned out to be a lot less scary than the one back in Konoha. But Naruto was older now plus that he had done tougher missions than the Chuunins. The fighting part was surprisingly hard because he was not allowed to use sage mode. But he managed to get the title of Chuunin in the end after winning his final match. A part of him felt rather proud despite that his friends had gotten their titles three years earlier. Tsunade then stepped down as a Hokage and Kakashi was given the position. He was a bit nervous about it, but he got well into the role after a year or so.

His social life was about to get a slight remake as well. Sakura was busy at the hospital since more medics had been recruited after the war. Sasuke was in jail while Sai had gotten the task to teach the former Root members important skills in how to function in 'normal situations'. It was surprisingly many who were worse than Sai in social situations. But there was a sad event as well…it seemed like his former female teammate was falling in love with the Uchiha again. He felt rather angry since the other guy had hurt her the last time she was in love with him. Seeing her all sad again was not something the blonde wanted. He did not have to worry much however; his former male teammate was just as vary. It created some mixed feelings inside his heart. A part of the guy was happy that the pinkette had fallen in love. Another part was sad that he was not the object of her affections.

This was when Hinata became a bigger part in his life. It started in the small; she showed up at the group trainings that Gai arranged twice a week. She then started to eat lunch together with him sometimes. He then found himself looking a bit forward to spend time with the quiet bluenette. But it took nearly a year for him to figure out that she had been in love with him for so long. It shocked the fresh Chuunin for two major reasons. The first reason was that the Hyuuga had been in love with him for more than six years without him having a good idea of what was going on. His second reason was simply that he didn't thought anyone could love him like she did. The teen was after all a jinchuuriki that had been shunned by people for such a long time plus that his parents were dead. The guy then had some thinking to do. Did he feel the same way for her? He then thought about the situations where people who had loved him had proved it to him in some way. Iruka had saved him from that mega shuriken that Mizuki had aimed at him. Then was the time where Hinata had fought against Pain. Would he have the courage to step in the way of a giant shuriken or possibly face a deadly enemy who tried to kill her?

It did not take long for Naruto to come up with an answer. His answer was yes. Her love for him had made him go into six-tail Kyuubi mode plus giving his stomach butterflies. The male then decided to ask her out at the tanabata festival where he would tell her how he felt. He could still remember when he saw her wearing her pale yellow yukata while her hair was in a tie. Hiashi had given him a stare that said 'you better treat my daughter well or I'll shut down your chakra network'. But the date had actually gone great and they started to see each other on a regular basis. Hinata moved in with Naruto exactly five years prior to the Jounin exams. The blonde had to be in a solo team like Sasuke since they were able to activate Sannin mode or a higher-level Sharingan. This was fair, but the exam was still one of the toughest events the young man had been through. Some of the giant animals he had to fight against had nearly eaten him while the rainstorms had made him wet in no time. He reached the goal mark just a minute prior to Sasuke. All of the Konoha 12 members passed the exam, so Naruto celebrated this by throwing a party at his apartment.

But his life was about to change a couple years later when his girlfriend suddenly started to vomit on a daily basis. He was rather worried since he had just gotten home from a mission from Tsuki no Kuni. Maybe the male had infected her with some tropical disease he had caught there? But the results turned out to be something quite a lot more serious. She was two months pregnant with his child. The Jounin felt like he had just been thrown into a wall by Maito Gai after he had opened his fifth gate. He had always wanted children, but they had not planned this pregnancy. But this changed when their son had been borne seven months later. A smile formed at his face when he met the little boy for the first time…he was so sweet. Their daughter Himiko came along a couple years later since neither of them wanted Toshio to grow up alone. The duo then decided to move back to the Hyuuga household since the female Jounin was going to be the leader. It was a slightly tough time because she had a lot of things to learn. But she did not give up and she became a clan leader at age 29. Kakashi then appointed the blonde to be his assistant since he was planning to retire in a couple years. He was quite excited about this despite that the days were long with a lot of hard work. However, it all paid off when the guy got his lifetime dream fulfilled at the age of 30. The young man was given the same position that his father as well as his old teacher had. He was now the Hokage, the leader of Konohagakure no Sato.

* * *

'Do I have any more tasks left to do now?' thought the Hokage as he checked his agenda. He re-read it a couple of times to make sure that everything was clear. A smile formed at his face when he realized that everything had been done. 'Better get home then. I'm sure Hinata-chan plus my kids are waiting for me' mused the male as he put on his jacket. He then exited the office and headed back home to the Hyuuga mansion. The sky was clear inky blue with stars dotted across the sky. A crescent moon lit up the village, making it look less creepy. 'I wonder what she made for dinner. She said she would make me a surprise' remembered Naruto as he approached the large house. Some of the windows were lit and it sounded like someone was having a birthday party since he heard someone sing the birthday song.

"I'm home!" shouted the young man as he entered the house. "Welcome home daddy! I was in the park today with mommy! Sakura-chan and Koichi-kun told me to say hello" greeted his daughter as she ran towards him. "I'm happy to hear that Himiko-chan. Where's your mummy?" inquired the blonde as he gave her a hug. "Oh. She's outside with onii-san. They're practicing on some jyuuken skills" told the girl. She scowled a little bit since she was not old enough to learn more than the basics. "Thanks for telling me. I'll eat some dinner after I've spoken with your mother Himiko-chan" replied the male before he went towards the training grounds. He was met by the sight of his wife adjusting a stance of some sort that the boy stood in.

"Hello Hinata-chan. How was your day?" asked the Hokage with a large smile. "Oh-hi Naruto-kun. It was pretty fine. I went to see Sakura-chan plus Koichi-kun in the park. Then, I made some dinner. We're just about to finish our jyuuken session now" informed the young woman. "I'm glad to have a wife like you. I hope you're doing what you can Toshio-kun" told the young man as he looked at his son. "I am" replied the bluenette with a determined expression. "Great! I'll sure you be just as good as Neji-san one day" stated Naruto with a huge smile. He then went back inside the house to get something to eat. There were two kitchens for each floor at the Hyuuga mansion since there were so many people living under one roof. "Hello Hokage-sama" greeted a male branch member as he entered the kitchen. He then gave him a polite bow. "Hello" replied the male after he had returned the bow. The now female leader of the clan had loosened up a bit on the whole branch-main situation after she started her regime. Branch members were now more respected as long as they treated the main house members well. All branch members with Chuunin rank was allowed to learn three jyuuken moves of the main house member's choice.

"Oooooou! RAMEN!" exclaimed the blonde when he saw the bowl that had a post-it note on it with his name. He removed the bowl before he made some tea. The bluenette had apparently made some of his favorite ramen with lots of vegetables. 'Itadikimasu!' thought the guy as he sat down to eat. He felt truly blessed to have a life like this. The blonde had a wife who loved him, he had two lovely children, tons of friends who liked him plus that he had achieved his long time dream. 'I guess I only have three more things to do. One: Make sure that my children grow up to become strong adults. Two: Be a good man to Hinata-chan. Three: BECOME THE BEST HOKAGE IN THE HISTORY!'.

* * *

I tried to imagine how Naruto would think in the start of the story. Since he's a bit hyperactive, I imagined that his thoughts would be a bit scattered. Same goes for the main-branch situation if Hinata got to decide. Especially because of Neji.

I hope this chapter was a good read. Praise and/or constructive criticism are much appreciated. I hope those of you who live in the U.S. had a great day on 4th July!


	3. Chapter 3: Suiyobi (ShizunexGenma)

OK guys! The summer is sadly coming to an end. I hope there are people who look forward to start at school or go back to work again. Maybe some of you are starting in middle school, high school, college or university?

This chapter has a somewhat unusual pairing that I quite like. Please give a great round of applause for Shizune!

* * *

**Suiyobi.**

"Kaaaaami! This has REALLY been a long day!" exclaimed the woman while she stretched her body. She had just finished her shift for the day and it was time to get back home. 'I better get home so I can make some food. Today is a special day after all' thought Shizune with a smile. Even though her calendar showed that it was in the middle of the week, there was a good reason to celebrate. It was exactly 14 years ago since she got married to her husband! 'I better remember to stop at the grocery shop to pick up some pumpkin. I think we ran out of it last weekend' remembered the female. She put on her light green kimono after she had taken off her cobalt blue scrubs. Even though the medic loved her job, it could be a bit tiresome when she had to work long hours. Thank Kami that Tsunade had the head medic position at the hospital. Another bonus to her old sensei being the boss was the number of shinobis that had been attracted to the medic field. They now had more herbalists, vets, nurses, medic shinobis plus scientists than prior to the shinobi war.

She went towards the mirror to check that her appearance was not too bad. A smile formed at her face when she saw her reflection. There were not too many wrinkles at her face plus that her hair was still closer to black than gray. 'Looks like I'm going to approach 50 without going paranoid like Tsunade-sama. Looks like taking care of your body pays off' concluded the woman with a grin. She brushed her hair a little in order to get the worst knots out of her hair. Since the charcoal-haired female worked at a hospital, makeup was not really on the priority list. Most of her patients looked a lot worse than her plus that her husband told her she was pretty the way she was. 'Got to hand it to Genma…he has a number of good compliments up his sleeves' mused the female as she took off her shoes. She could not believe how lucky she was to be married to someone who was a best friend who loved her. The two of them had met at the Academy for a little more than forty years ago when they were in the same class. Neither of them were geniuses like Kakashi or very social like Asuma. The medic had been a bit on the unsocial side due to her love of books and academics. She was basically a bit of a nerd who was slightly awkward in social things. Genma however simply found some of the people in his class a bit too loud or neurotic sometimes. But perhaps that was what made them such a good couple.

A cool breeze grazed her skin as she exited the hospital a couple minutes later. Some civilians were seen in the street plus a couple of ANBU's who were on guard duty. Ever since the war that occurred 17 years ago, Tsunade had insisted on having both civilian plus uniformed agents on the street most of the day. All of those who were 16 years old or above were able to apply for proper training if they wished. The younger shinobis however were allowed to attend a course to learn the basics. This turned out to be a success since the number of crimes shrank quite a lot. It also increased the success rate on missions taken by Genins, especially those concerning minor crimes. A smile formed at the woman's face as she walked down the street. Passing on knowledge plus using it in relevant situations seemed to be a never ending circle that would keep on going forever. Tsunade had been taught medical jutsus that she had developed from her master. She had then taken in her as her student after Dan had passed away. Then, Sakura had been taken under the older woman's wing to learn medical jutsus.

'It's strange that Sakura is one of the executives in her department now with her own students. Seems like it was yesterday she was this slightly awkward 13-year old girl who was just getting a grasp on how to heal wounds on a fish' recalled Shizune. She then entered the large supermarket where she would get what she needed for her pumpkin dish. The store was somewhat big with bright lights that made her eyes hurt slightly. All of the groceries were neatly stacked up in different shelves all across the shop. Her nose picked up a faint smell of lemon paired with chemicals. 'It seems like they have just washed the floors and the shelves. One more reason why this is a good place to shop' thought the female. She liked this supermarket since they had a great selection of food with somewhat low prices. As a medic, she was disgusted by filthy public areas. Some of the bathrooms she had seen on her travels with her master had left such a bad impression that it still sent shivers down her spine.

The charcoal haired woman then walked further into the shop while trying to remember what else she needed for her pumpkin soup. 'I should buy a couple of onions. Some garlic would probably be nice too. We already have red peppers as well as broccoli' remembered the woman as she turned a corner. She did not really mind cooking the food once in a while after all the travels with the older female. The fact that the younger medic was nearly obsessed with healthy cooking only added fuel to this. Genma did not complain either since his health had improved a bit after moving in with her. Not that he wasn't unhealthy already…many were surprised when he said how old he was. The male could easily pass for being five to eight years younger despite that his hair had started to gray. 'I hope we can stay together when we're old as well. I feel sorry for Tsunade-sama who lost her boyfriend at such a young age' thought the female as she walked towards the vegetable aisle.

She felt a slightly sad look form at her face when she remembered how sad the older woman had been when she told her about her lover. Dan had died when he was in his twenties and the skilled medic had blamed herself for not being able to save him. This had resulted in years of feeling guilty plus a strong phobia of blood. Shizune bit her lip when she remembered how sad the blonde had looked during the funeral…the look in her eyes was unforgettable. 'Get it off now Shizune. You have a dinner to make' remembered the woman as she shook her head. She scanned the vegetables to see if she found the pumpkin she looked for. 'AHA!' thought the medic when she saw a pumpkin on the size of a soccer ball not too far away. The female laid the pumpkin in the basket moments later with a smile at her face. She then spotted a sign that hung just ten feet in front of her. 'Onions: -30% discount. Challenge yourself this week!' stated the sign. 'Ooooh! The onions are on sale this week! What a great timing' thought the woman with a huge smile. She went over to the onion boxes and tried to find some decent-looking vegetables. That took a little while because many had apparently taken the best ones. 'I guess these would do since none of us are huge fans of onions. What else do I need for the soup? I should probably buy some leek as well as some garlic. I know Genma likes leek' recalled Shizune. She headed for the other side of the vegetable aisle to find the leek. The shop had apparently just gotten in a fresh batch of them judging from how strong the colour was. Brightly coloured vegetables with an even texture meant they were fresh, so the female bought a couple. But her luck came to an end when she went over to the basket where the garlics laid. There were no garlics left there apart from some that looked a bit bumpy.

'I got the ingredients now, so I better find some spices. But what sort of spices could be combined with pumpkin? My main ingredient is already sweet enough on its own. Perhaps I can use some thyme or basils to make the soup a bit tastier. I already have some salt and pepper back at the house' remembered the medic. She went straight towards the spice section with a good grip on her basket. This couldn't be regarded as a safe place despite that it was a supermarket. Her nearly forty years as a shinobi had thought her that in more ways than one. Especially since she had traveled so much together with the Sannin after passing her Jounin exam. Onyx eyes studied the area around the spice aisles. The only customers there were two elderly people who were with their grandchild. A smile formed at her face…the new generations were surely going to grow up strong in this new village.

* * *

Konoha was in a recovery stage after the war. She remembered how her home village looked like when the shinobis returned from the conflict. Many of the important buildings such as the Hokage tower as well as the hospital were nearly up and going. But the civilians were mainly living in somewhat temporary homes. To cap it all, the landscape of the village itself had changed thanks to what Pein had done. This made it harder for the building crew to restore the village to its former state. Many of the shinobis were given different awards for their effort and were treated like heroes. Shizune and several of the other medics got the 'golden healer' medals. Tsunade received a platinum award since her extensive knowledge had been a tremendous help in the fight against Madara Uchiha. But the very next day, the female had gathered all the shinobis for an important announcement.

"There is no time to rest! What we need to do is to restore our village to what it used to be! Konohagakure no Sato is our home, which we have to restore even if it takes just as much effort as the war did. I want all shinobis who are able to work to sign up for work as soon as possible. To the medics…make sure the wounded ones get a proper recovery. Let's get to work!" had the older woman shouted to all of her shinobis. Cheers had erupted and the spirits ran high. It was safe to say that the will of fire had been ignited in all the shinobis if one looked at the activity for the next couple of months. Many of the Nara clan members plus some senior carpenters were able to create improved building plans for new houses. Several shinobis that were skilled in taijutsu like Rock Lee or Maito Gai donated their muscle power to the construction. Thanks to them, the buildings were restored in a fraction of time. Shinobis that were skilled in raiton jutsus such as Kakashi however were a great help in terms of constructing new electric networks.

Sai had joined up with the Inuzuka clan in order to carry things across the city. Even the hospitalized patients were doing great. Tsunade had cooperated with Iruka to develop a pre-medic program at the Academy. It was a program that allowed non-medic shinobis to learn basic medic knowledge plus other useful methods. Students with the chakra control required for medic ninjutsus could start their training right after graduating. It had proved out to be a success because more shinobis were now recruited as trainees. In addition to this, the new knowledge meant that non-medics could treat themselves or their teammates better. But the high number of students had resulted in quite a lot of work for the charcoal-haired woman. She had to assist in the remake of the teaching plan due to the extensive research that had been conducted. This was where Genma entered the scene. He was after all a Jounin who were often on missions that involved teamwork or highly demanding in knowledge. The woman had lost the count of how many days or weeks they had spent on making outlines for courses or classes with the others. It could be really stressful sometimes; it had been times where she had wanted to scream or hammer her fists on the nearest door or wall. Or even both if it had been a particular hard day.

It was after a couple of weeks where he had started to show some subtle hints of affection towards her. The man made sure to bring some brown rice with him if it was going to be a long day. He often asked her about her opinion about things as well as taking them into consideration. Sometimes, the shinobi even listened to her more than the others. Shizune had initially thought it was because the Jounin did not know much about the topic they were discussing. But a part of her knew it was false because he was a rather clever shinobi. Another thing the female noticed was the subtle things he did to make her comfortable. The male often let her sit close to the heater since she hated to freeze for example. At this stage, the medic was a bit unsure of what to do. She had never been in a long relationship due to her extensive traveling with the older woman. The woman decided to do some thinking in order to decide what to do. On the positive side, Genma was someone she had known for a long time. Another plus was that he had been in a similar profession just as long as she had.

But the downside was the death risk. Tsunade and Kurenai had both experienced this at a young age. Was this really something that the medic was willing to face? The guy she loved was not exactly the one who put himself in danger without reason. Plus that there were plenty of more medics now who were able to accompany shinobis on higher-ranked missions. She then reached her decision after two weeks of weighing the opportunities. This turned out to be a perfect time since Christmas was approaching. A smile formed at her face when she recalled the meeting where they were finishing up a particularly hard course layout. He had told her earlier that he did not have any plans. The woman had then asked him if he wanted to eat at the new restaurant close to the Hokage monument. Genma had accepted her offer and the duo went out to eat at the new eating spot. It was a somewhat low-key restaurant that specialized in ecological food. They had spent that evening laughing about past events plus discussing other matters. She felt sad when she went home, but at least the date had gone really well. It seemed like the male felt the same since he asked her out two weeks later. The charcoal-haired woman was not disappointed when he took her to a Japanese restaurant. Both of them had enjoyed themselves and they decided to have a third date after the planning was done.

It took about two months until the third date were planned. This time, they met up at her apartment. She blushed a little when she remembered what had happened that evening. But the events turned out for the better since they agreed to have a serious relationship after that. Genma had apparently had a crush for her for some time, but he was a bit unsure on it too. The duo agreed to not accept missions that were extremely dangerous unless it was a team mission. Tsunade was happy that her student had found a nice guy while her colleagues congratulated her. After they had been together for two years, they decided to sell their apartments to buy a bigger one they could share. This was not a completely hassle free decision however because their estate agent got hospitalized with serious bronchitis in the middle of the process. The events did however take a turn for the better thanks to an herb that Shikamaru and Ino had found at the Nara ranch. A month later, the woman found herself hosting a moving in party together with her boyfriend. It had been a really great party despite that Kotetsu was incredibly bad at karaoke.

* * *

'I can't believe that's almost 14 years ago since we moved in together' thought Shizune with a smile at her face. She went towards the cash register after she had found basil. 'Hm. There's no queue' noticed the female when she reached the cash register. She paid for her goods before she exited the shop. Darkness had settled over Konohagakure no Sato despite that it was not that late in the evening. 'So much for clouds' observed the medic when she looked up at the inky-blue skies. There were numerous clouds that blocked the stars out. She prayed that it would not start to rain as she went down the street. But her prayers went unanswered when something hit her nose five minutes later. 'CRAP!' thought the woman when she realized it was a raindrop. Her umbrella got broken two days ago when Akamaru had accidentally sat down on it. Kiba had promised to get her a new one, but he was called out on a mission to the capital the next day. She started to run towards her apartment complex while holding onto her fabric shopping bag.

'At least it's not too far away…thank Kami for that' realized the charcoal-haired female as she saw the familiar building come into view. She got under the roof just a couple minutes later. Her right hand searched for the key as she went up the stairs to the third floor. Some faint music could be heard from the apartment next to theirs. It made her smile since it was a slightly upbeat tune that lifted her mood a little. A small 'click' could be heard as she turned the key around in the lock. She opened the door slightly before peeking in. It was one of the oldest shinobi tips in the book that the female had always used when she stayed at new places. 'Nobody's home. Better get in' decided Shizune.

She turned on the light right after she had entered her apartment. The woman went straight to the kitchen to start on the pumpkin soup. She glanced at the watch that hung right above the dinner table. '5:50 PM. Genma won't be home in an hour or so…looks like I got plenty of time' noticed the woman. It did not take long until the silence got replaced with the chopping sounds that her knife made. The pumpkin was soon reduced to small pieces that would be mashed into a puree that would work as a base. 'Pretty sure that the machine is here somewhere' thought the medic as she opened the cabinet. She was about to remove it when she saw a shadow behind it. "EEEEEK!" screamed the female as she backed towards the wall as fast as possible. Mice were one of the things she hated the most despite being a shinobi. But she could not hear or see anything move inside. 'Better be safe than sorry' thought the charcoal-haired woman as she lifted her knife. Her kuinochi side emerged as she stepped closer to the cabinet. She quickly did a stabbing motion towards the shadow. Surprisingly, a loud 'CLANG!' could be heard as the knife hit the shadow. The woman raised an eyebrow in surprise at the sound. She pulled out her kitchen tool to see what was at the other end. It turned out that the victim to her knife were the whisks to her mixer. 'Phew. Genma must have misplaced them after he made that omelet yesterday' realized Shizune.

She then reached for the blender and started to crush the pumpkin bits. A couple minutes later, the pieces of pumpkin had transformed into a golden orange liquid. 'Perfect. Time to cook it up' thought the female with a grin. She turned on the stove after placing the kettle on the ceramic plate. Next on the list were the vegetables. It did not take long until the chopping sounds could be heard as the knife hacked up the greens into smaller pieces. Onyx eyes studied the content of the kettle to make sure it did not overheat. The medic then poured the vegetables into the now warm pumpkin soup. '6:40? Won't be long until he's home' realized the woman. A part of her actually loved the time of the day where both of them were coming home from work. She usually had longer shifts than he had, but Wednesdays plus Sundays were an exception. Both of them had Sunday off while he came home early on Fridays. 'It looks like the soup is nearly done. Better put in the last touch' decided the charcoal-haired female. She picked up the spices she had bought and sprinkled a little into the soup. The female then put the soup aside so it could cool down a little bit. Her slender hands opened up the cabinet next to the fridge to where they had the dinnerware. She removed two white bowls from the middle shelf plus two large glasses. They were placed on the table just before a 'click' came from the entrance.

"I'm home!" announced a familiar voice. "Welcome home Genma!" replied Shizune after she had placed the kettle with soup on the table. He came into the kitchen five minutes later; she knew he didn't like to wear the uniform off-duty. The dishwater blonde was now wearing a pair of gray trousers plus a khaki-green sweater. "Hey Shizune. So nice to finally see someone who isn't wearing a mask" told the man with a smile. "I thought you enjoyed working with the ANBU group" replied the woman after kissing his cheek. "I do. But not being able to see their faces is a bit annoying. Especially because you can't tell their emotions properly. How was your day?" asked the Jounin. "Not too bad really. I didn't have that many patients, but a lot of paper work. Which is fine since it puts me in autopilot mode" answered the medic with a laugh. He let out a chuckle; being a shinobi did have its boring sides too. "What's that lovely smell by the way?" inquired the male. "I decided to make some pumpkin soup. I know you had a hard day plus that we haven't eaten that in a while" said the female. He gave her a sweet kiss. "Thank you so much. You're truly the best girlfriend I've ever had" stated Genma with a huge smile at his face. "Thank you. Let's eat now…I hate cold soup" replied the charcoal haired woman. She felt a happy feeling spread through her body. 'I really love the life I got know. Feeling this happy surely makes up for all the work I've put in' thought the woman as she swallowed her first spoonful of warm pumpkin soup.

* * *

Whoa...hard to believe that Shizune would be at the same age as Tsunade in this chapter! Had to check the Naruto data book to find their favourite food. Shizune apparently like cooked brown rice while Genma's favourite dish is pumpkin broth. I didn't write about their children since they would both have been about 36-37 at the time they moved in together. And having children is not always a 'must' for couples either.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Reviews with praise/constructive criticism or both are much appreciated!


	4. Chapter 4: Mokuyobi (ShikamaruxIno)

Hello everyone! I hope all of you are off to a good start on your school year or work life. I'm a bit jealous since I'm currently unemployed. Fingers crossed that I'll get a job soon!

Meanwhile, let's check out a pairing that I find quite interesting. Please give a warm welcome to Shikamaru Nara!

* * *

**Mokuyobi.**

'Kami. Finally done' thought the man as he stretched his arms. Thursdays were particularly long for two reasons. Reason number one: there were more papers since they had their weekly meetings each Wednesday. This meant that there was at least one new bunch of papers that had to be sent to the right person or department. Reason number two: Thursdays were his day to feed the deer in the evening. So in order to prevent ravaging hungry deer in the morning, he had to give all of them food right after coming home. 'At least there are none at the ranch who are currently ill. That would just be extremely troublesome' stated Shikamaru mentally as he got up from his desk. He made sure that all the envelopes were in the right order before he put on his jacket. It was time to get back home to the Nara ranch so he could give some care to those needing it. This did not only include those deer, but both of his children too.

He smiled when he thought about the two small kids he had been able to raise. Chie was a smart girl who was in the same year as Sakura and Sasuke's daughter at the Academy. His son Shinichi was going to start at the shinobi Academy in less than two years. Brown eyes glanced down at the photo that had been taken during the cherry blossom picnic a couple months ago. They were looking towards the camera with big smiles at their faces. It made him smile too...the male felt blessed to have such a nice family. Not to mention that the ranch was doing great as well. They had been able to supply a lot of medicine to the hospital plus making a small extra income on letting the Academy students visit the ranch on school trips. Some found it a bit scary since the deer were not as fluffy or human oriented such as the Inuzuka dogs for instance. But the Academy staff had encouraged them to keep up since they meant it was a valuable part of their earth science curriculum. 'At least it's less boring than being stuck in a class room all day long' thought the Jounin as he exited the office.

He walked down to the ground floor, noticing that there were nearly no people around. The man looked at the watch that was on his wrist…it was 06:35 PM. 'No wonder why the hallways are empty. Most of them probably went home an hour ago. How troublesome. Being the Hokage's assistant is a bit boring when you have to work such long hours' thought the Nara. An ironic smile formed at his face as he realized something. He would have never thought that a lazy person like himself would work to 06:30 PM at least twice a week. If the Nara had told this to his younger self, there was a big chance that he had been utterly shell-shocked. But there were several perks that came with the job though. The male was able to have a direct influence of many aspects of the village life. Everything from the Academy to the pharmacy goods were under his control. Another plus was that his boss was actually a likable person despite his somewhat hyper personality. His coworkers were nice too, apart from some of the somewhat stale old people plus the idiots at some of the departments. Last but not least was the fact that it had a good paycheck too. Shikamaru had invested some of his money in two decent apartments in Konoha so his children had a nice place to stay when they became adults.

Ino on the other hand were spending some of her money on non-shinobi related classes for their children. He had first found it a bit weird, but she told it would be useful in the future. A shinobi could after all be asked to go undercover as everything from a farmer to a politician. The man had to admit that she got him there…undercover work was essential to the shinobi profession. Their daughter was now attending earth science lessons twice a week plus society knowledge lessons once a week. His son however was just attending earth science lessons once a week. The blonde female had promised Chie that she could attend dance lessons next year if she did well in her existing lessons.

"Have a nice evening Nara-san!" told the secretary as he entered the lobby. "Thanks miss" replied the brunette with a small smile. He then exited the building. The sky was getting darker while some clouds drifted across the sky like giant slate-blue cotton balls. A small breeze made some of the trees sway a little bit. 'I better hurry a little. I don't want my deer to attack me for not giving them food' thought the male as he started to jump from roof to roof. The Nara ranch laid in a district that was at the east end of the city while the Hokage tower laid in the south-west part of the town. It took some time to get there, but at least he got some exercise. He envied his wife though since she only had to walk a couple blocks to get to the ANBU training center or the flower shop. She worked in the latter place twice a week while the other three or four days in the week were spent at the training center. Being a Yamanaka meant that she had to teach or participate in lessons about mind control jutsus on a regular basis. Another thing that the woman did was to help out in the disguise department with Tenten. Both of them had a pair of keen eyes that had been a great asset to teaching about disguises or making different cover-ups. Many of the costumes in the ANBU training center had improved massively while the agents were more capable of fooling enemies.

He felt proud that his wife had been able to accomplish this despite being a mother of two as well as having a lazy husband. 'But she can be a bit troublesome herself sometimes…I guess it makes a balance of some sort' pondered the Nara as he approached the ranch. He landed on the ground as he made his way towards the stable where the deer stood. The scent of dried grass combined with deer fur was a familiar smell that erased some of the stress in his body. One of the deer had just been moved to another stable stall since she had given birth to two calves. He let out a small sigh as he unlocked the door to the stable. The light was turned up a bit in order to see a bit better. It was a spacious stable that had plenty of room for the twenty-something deer that the Nara ranch currently had. All of the animals stayed outside during the daytime, but had to spend the night inside due to new safety rules. A few of the animals turned their heads towards the door since they were curious to see who it was who entered their living quarters. Shikamaru laid a small hay ball in the wheel barrow and started to hand out the hay immediately. One of the stags in the larger stable stall suddenly poked his head in the bin as the man approached it.

"Whoa, calm down please. I'm just here to feed you. I'm not here to be mean to you" told Shikamaru as he laid some large handfuls of food in the bin. A pair of animalistic brown eyes gave him a grateful look after the bin had been filled up to the brim. Shikaku had learned his son from an early age that animals COULD recognize human voices despite not being able to talk. It made sense for the boy since the Inuzuka clan plus the Aburame family could control their animals by voice. A smile formed at his face when he reached the stable stall with the two calves. "Ssssh. Don't worry. I'm just here with food" assured the Jounin as he looked at the female deer. She gave him a vary look while her calves positioned themselves behind her. He then dumped a quarter of the hay ball into the large feeding bin. The man then checked the buckets to make sure the deer had enough to drink for the evening. 'Looks good…better close the stable then' concluded the brunette. He closed the door to the stable after turning down the lights so the deer could eat in peace.

'Time to feed myself' thought the male as he locked the door. He had barely entered the door to his home when he suddenly saw two small faces poking out of the next corner. 'Wonder what those two are up to. I hope they don't ram into me from both sides like they did last week' prayed the 33-year old. His children apparently loved to give him some sort of 'surprise hug' every time he came home late. For about a week ago, the duo had jumped onto the side of his back. This would have been fun if they had not done it at the same time. He felt his liver as well as his ribs shrink in fear upon the memory of this accident. But the male knew that they were only doing it because they were happy to see him. 'Fingers crossed' thought Shikamaru as he approached the corner. "HAPPY THURSDAY DADDY!" shouted his kids as they jumped out of their hiding place. Chie hugged him from behind while Shinichi had encircled his waist from the front. It was surprisingly comfortable despite that he was being embraced by two pairs of arms that had different size.

"Thank you kids…what have you been up to today?" inquired the man with a tired smile. "We had about safe travel today at the Academy. It was a bit interesting since we had two Jounins from Kirigakure there today. They told us how it was to travel to other countries when you lived on an island" replied the girl. "I went to the sports track today with granny. We played hide and seek" told the boy. "Sounds like you two had a great day today. You've had a bit more fun than I had" admitted the Nara as he hung up his jacket. "DINNER TIME!" announced a female voice. "Coming mum!" shouted the duo in unison as they headed for the kitchen. A growl could be heard when the man noticed the smell of food. 'Looks like my stomach is more than ready' thought the male. He noticed that his daughter had tied up her dark ash blonde hair in a high ponytail similar to the hairdo that he had. 'Thank Kami that she has her mother's hair. My hair is a nightmare sometimes' mused brunette as he went down the hallway. He was glad that his mother had some hairdresser training, or else he or his father would have had crow nests instead of hair.

The man entered the kitchen that was buzzing with energy. His wife was stirring something in a pan while his children were looking into the stove. They were apparently guessing what kind of meat she was cooking. "Could you please put the plates on the table Chie-chan?" asked the female as she stirred the contents in the wok pan. "Why can't Shinichi-kun do it?" replied the blonde. "Because they are too heavy for him to carry. Shinichi-kun, can you please help daddy to put the chopsticks on the table?" inquired the blonde while she pointed at four pairs of chopsticks that lay on the table. "No!" stated the boy. "Why not?" asked the woman. "Because I don't wanna do that" replied the brunette. "Do you want to have less pocket money this week?" inquired the woman. Her question made the small male shake his head. "Then, you should put the chopsticks on the table" concluded the Yamanaka. He could tell that she was not happy due to her slightly strict voice. Shinichi pouted as he took the chopsticks down from the table. "I see you're teaching our children about responsibility" told Shikamaru as he laid the chopsticks next to the bowls. "They need it. Besides, I cooked our favorite meal today. Mackerel with stirred vegetables plus a little rice" informed the female with a smile. "Thank you Ino. I really appreciate that" replied the male with a sincere smile. He got a sweet smile in return before the woman laid the food at the table. 'Heh. Kind of reminds me of our gatherings at the barbeque' recalled the Jounin as he remembered the events of the past.

* * *

The war 17 years ago had left their marks on team 10 in more ways than one. Kabuto had thankfully able to restore multiple shinobis with some help from the Kyuubi. But the older Ino-Shika-Cho members needed quite a lot of physiotherapy plus medicine to get back in shape. It was not a surprise since their bodies had been seriously injured, but the male felt his heart ache when his father had to use a wheelchair. Sasuke was placed in house arrest due to his actions while Naruto was going for the Chuunins. The brunette felt neutral about the treatment that his former classmate received. He knew that he deserved to get punished, but it was good that Tsunade had assigned constructive therapy too. Then was the restoration of Konoha. Everyone who had remained had managed to rebuild the most important buildings during the war. The guy was put in charge together with some of the top shinobis to make a good building plan for Konohagakure. His mother was thankfully taking care of the ranch while her husband and son were busy. Nearly a third of their deer had sadly lost their life during the invasion, so the female had to do what she could to restore the herd. The herd grew at a slow yet steady pace with each deer that was borne.

But Konohagakure was restored faster thanks to the coordination jobs that the shinobis had partaken in. Chouji worked in team with other Akimichi members to build larger buildings. Ino on the other hand was busy at the hospital with providing herbal medicine plus psychological help with her clan. More shinobis were able to recover from trauma injuries or psychological scars thanks to their knowledge. But the guy could recall a couple occasions where his female teammate seemed incredible sad or had lost the colour in her face. This made him worried for two reasons. Reason number one was that the blonde already had pale skin. But the second reason was that she had seen into numerous brains during her shinobi career. Even though she was not assigned to the most traumatized ones, she could still get scared of what she saw. He then decided to do something that would probably benefit their families. About a year after the war had ended, the Chuunin asked Inochi as well as Chouza if they wanted to celebrate the New Year festival at the Nara ranch liked they used to. His mother however was happy for him since he was taking responsibility. Shikaku had remained quiet, but a satisfied smile graced his face. It had actually been a great party despite that some of the food got slightly burned. The Akimichi family thankfully did not seem to mind this. But one thing he could not forget was how Ino looked…she seemed so tired yet happy at the same time. She had even bought a new sweater for him that had come in really handy. He felt a bit embarrassed since his present had only consisted of some accessories to her kimono. The Nara secretly liked it when she was wearing her khaki green kimono with cherry blossoms on it. But he would not say that out loud, especially since this was no time for romance.

Things took a change for the better about two years later when they had both turned 20. Chouji asked him to meet up at the Korean barbeque for a Christmas dinner. The surprise however was that their female teammate was there instead. She had received the same invitation and they quickly got the idea. The chubby guy had decided to put them up for a date since he had noticed the romantic feelings they had. It was a little awkward to begin with because they had been close for so long. Thankfully, it was not hard to make the conversations flow. Their relationship grew steadily over the next years due to the lack of conflicts. It did not make things worse when the female put up Sakura on a blind date with Sasuke. She told him that he was no longer his type since she knew he would do better off with Sakura. The Nara felt a bit relieved despite that she had not made a move on the other guy yet.

A new trial however appeared four years later in the form of the Jounin exams. It was one of the most challenging tests that he had been through. Hinata and Lee were on his team this time. He was grateful for having such hard-working teammates or else the exam would have been grueling. But they managed to get through together with the rest of Konoha 12 who were taking the exams. Shikamaru then started his "internship" to take over the ranch since he was a Jounin now. His father showed him how to file out tax reports, find out how the deer would be able to mate plus other things. Ino was however taking courses at the ANBU academy with her cousins. The young man found this a bit troublesome at the start because there was a lot to get through. But it was all worth it when his girlfriend moved in and he was put in charge of the ranch on his 26th birthday.

This was the time period when the female he dated felt ill. She started fainting sometimes after taijutsu lessons or if she have had a busy day. One day, the blonde decided to ask Hinata to check her body. The brunette could still remember the look at her face when she saw what was going on inside the other woman's body. It turned out that her female friend was pregnant! That occasion was one of the few times where the male had no idea of what to do. He had spoken to the Yamanaka about this plus that he had wanted kids for a while. They decided to keep the baby and their families were over the moon. Chie then arrived into the world at the end of May. He could still remember the feeling when he held her for the first time. Her light hazelnut brown eyes that were looking right into his taupe brown ones. Shikamaru felt like he had just fallen in love again with Ino, just in a much more serious way. It was his responsibility to show her daughter how a man should be like. Their baby sadly had colic during the first weeks, which put their patience to the test. But the issue thankfully smoothed out after Shizune had prescribed some herbal medicine.

They both decided to try out for a new baby a couple years later since both of them had been only children. Their attempt succeeded when the young woman fell pregnant again right after their daughter's third birthday. Ino found this pregnancy easier than the last since she knew what to expect. But since their little son arrived two weeks ahead of the date in the end of February, it became a wee bit hectic. They decided to name him Shinichi in honor of his grandfathers. It was hard to tell who was the most proud out of the two men. Chie however was happy to get a little brother and the female received her position when their son was two years old. The man however got promoted to the Hokage's assistant after helping Naruto with making a parental plan for shinobis. It meant longer hours, but much better payment that would benefit his family.

* * *

"Do you like the mackerel Shikamaru?" inquired the woman. He snapped out at his thoughts when he heard her voice. "Uhm – yes" replied the male brunette before he picked up the last mackerel piece. The male started to chew his food while he looked at his family. He was wondering if they were going to teach them the jutsus from both of their clans or just one. "What kind of pepper did you put in the fish mum?" inquired Chie. "I put in a liiiittle bit of black pepper in it plus some basil. Why do you ask?" replied the Yamanaka with a curious look at her face. "Because Iruka-sensei told us that really strong food like chili or tabasco can upset your stomach when you're a child" stated the girl with a facial expression that was very similar to her mother's 'I'm right because I know this' face. "Iruka-sensei is right. That reminds me…do you remember when you had that bet with Chouji back at the Academy Shikamaru? You two had a bet on who could eat the spiciest chili fruit" recalled the female with a smile at her face. It made a smile form at his face too. "Yeah. I remember I took the yellow one because I knew it would be weaker than the red one. I still can't get over how his face looked after he ate that in one go. But when did you guys started to learn about food in the Academy? I thought you wouldn't have cooking classes until your third or fourth year" said the Nara. "We're just learning about what kind of food that can give you a bad stomach" informed the blonde as she picked up a piece of green bell pepper.

"That's good. Are you looking forward to help daddy tomorrow Shinichi?" inquired the blonde. "Yesh" answered the boy with his mouth full off fish. "Shinichi, it's not polite to talk with your mouth full" told the woman. Her son looked a tad bit shameful as he finished his mouthful. "I'm sorry mum" muttered the toddler. "You're forgiven Shinichi. Just remember that to next time. Let's clean up the table now" stated Ino with a smile. She got up from her chair and started to clear the table. Chie removed her plate while the smaller male had to be reminded by the man. The oldest Nara put the kettle in the fridge so they could eat the leftovers tomorrow.

"Thanks for helping me out Shikamaru. How was work today?" inquired the female. "Troublesome. We had a lot of paperwork to finish" sighed the male. "Let me make that better" told the Yamanaka with a smile. She stood up on her toes and gave him a kiss. It actually helped somehow. "Thanks Ino. I'm glad you're here…I would be a little lost if not" admitted the male brunette. "You're welcome. But I'm afraid I have an important question to ask you. It's about the jutsus. I mean, Chie is almost at the age where she should start learning them" muttered the woman. "I was thinking about that. I thought we could learn them both of our jutsus. That would make the Ino-Shika-Cho trio more diverse. But I'm happy to hear your suggestion too" said the man. His wife had a thoughtful look at her face. "I thought we can learn them the basics of both until they're 12-13. After that, they can choose themselves" suggested the female after the noises of an anime show filled the living room. "Sounds like a plan to me. Let's go and watch some anime" finished the Nara. He felt so blessed having a wife who loved him, two healthy children plus a good job. Seemed like all the troublesome work he had put in was indeed paying off.

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Sooo...what do you guys think about this chapter? Please give me a review or a PM if you have any praise or constructive criticism. They're both MUCH appreciated!


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